Geri Spotlight: Todd James and Louise Walter
The Geriatrics Spotlight initiative fosters community building within the Division, especially during this age of hybrid/remote work where it can be challenging to find ways to interact with colleagues outside of your immediate teams. This is a way for Division members to learn more about all the wonderful work we’re doing!
This week, we get to know our division faculty, Todd James, MD (pictured left) and Louise Walter, MD (pictured right).
Role: Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics Lead for the Age-Friendly Emergency Department
Joined Division: 2019
Work site: UCSF Parnassus and partially from home in San Francisco
Email: [email protected]
Interviewed by Louise Walter, MD
About Todd’s Role/Ongoing Projects
Todd is the Geriatrics Lead for our Level 1 Age-Friendly Emergency Department (AFED). He is excited about the opportunity to create a new model of care that demonstrates the benefits of geriatric expertise and assessment in the emergency department setting, which is a new frontier for the field of Geriatrics. The UCSF AFED goes beyond "fix it medicine" to provide care for older adults who often have conditions and concerns that require an interprofessional approach and connections to community resources while they are in our AFED. This also helps them avoid repeated emergency department visits.
Todd is also excited about a project he is leading which is funded by UCSF's Program for Interprofessional Practice and Education (PIPE). With the team, he is creating an Interprofessional Module for APP and Pharmacy learners in the AFED which is a first of its kind. This module creates a new practice site, the AFED, that stresses the importance of interprofessional competencies, such as systems thinking, teamwork, and communication.
All the Division's missions benefit from diverse interprofessional perspectives and experiences embodied in the projects described above. This is what the future of health systems should look like.
Todd's favorite aspects of his role are the "energetic, brilliant, good-hearted people that I work with every day as well as the space to do good work and innovate."
What is a professional goal you would like to accomplish by the end of this year?
Todd would like to complete the Interprofessional Module for the Age-Friendly Emergency Department (AFED), which is the first such interprofessional training module developed in a Level 1 AFED.
More about Todd
What is a fun fact about you that not many people know?
Todd took church organ lessons in high school.
What would your backup career be?
Todd has always thought it would be fun to be a Tour Guide for American travel writer Rick Steves.
Role: Professor and Chief and of the Division of Geriatrics
Joined Division: 2001
Work site: UCSF Mission Bay, SFVAHCS, and partially from home in San Francisco
Email: [email protected]
Interviewed by Todd James, MD
About Louise’s Role/Ongoing Projects
Louise is focused on developing the workforce for excellence in aging. She mentors researchers and clinicians. She is the Leader of the Research & Education Core for the UCSF Pepper Center for Aging Research and an Associate Director with the UCSF Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging Program. She has been recognized multiple times for her ability to mentor others, including recently with the 2022 UCSF MSTAR Best Clinical Mentor Award!
She also continues to be engaged in research projects focused on individualizing cancer screening in older adults, including projects studying the utility and outcomes of surveillance colonoscopy and cervical cancer screening in older adults.
Louise's work influences the systems and programs of the School of Medicine, the health system and national guidelines, and she supports those moving geriatric medicine forwards across all of the Division’s mission areas.
The amazing, encouraging and inspiring people in the Division of Geriatrics keep Louise motivated and excited about her work.
What is a professional goal you would like to accomplish by the end of this year?
This year, Louise is focused on improving the wellbeing of faculty, trainees, and staff and highlighting the value of the work being done in the Division.
More about Louise
What would your backup career be?
As a back up career, Louise is poised to be a lounge pianist, serenading an audience with popular and entertaining music! The Nordstrom flagship store closed too soon.